Puppet Master
by Yuuzami
Summary: Inspired by the Gazette's song: Taion. Reita never would've imagined fantasy and reality would ever come together. But when his best friend Kai dares him to enter the burnt-out house in the forest, he soon begins to realize nothing is what it seems.
1. Waiting on Fate

The creature sat on the sofa as black as midnight. The sun never shone through the tattered curtains that hid the barred windows. A soft breeze brushed past the creature. It held the nameless girl's hand gently in its own. The girl's hand was made of the finest china which was so delicate one false move would break her.

The creature rubbed her hand slowly against his cheek as it stared at the curtains in the dim light. For thousands of years both had been imprisoned in an abandoned house. The bond between the two was not love but more soul-bound. If one felt pain the other would suffer along with them.

The strings attached to the creature lay limp all around it. The creature was magnificent and more beautiful than the world's finest maidens. The nameless girl's dark hair fell down past her shoulders. She was dressed in the most elegant clothes you could imagine. She looked like a doll. And that's exactly what she was… a doll.

The creature and doll looked angelic sitting next to each other. Not only was the doll dressed spectacularly, so was the creature itself. It wore clothes that made it seem like it had walked out of a long-forgotten fairytale. Its hands were gloved in black silk; it wore satin, linen and silk with what seemed to be gauze draped across it.

Both had dreamed of leaving their prison someday. Their dream would never be realized. No leaving being, animal or human had ever dared stepped onto the land with which the house rested upon. Tales of it being cursed and the horrible things that would happen if you trespassed had not faded, even with the new age. Without someone to recue them from an eternity of solitude they would continue to live on without socialization.

The nameless girl pulled away from him and stood up. She didn't really seem to be walking across the room but rather floating. She was like a ghost… a doll that may have once been human. She kept her eyes to the floor as she exited the ruined living room. The walls were old and cracking. The entire house was burnt out but the contents inside hadn't been scorched by whatever fire had dashed through in past years.

The entire house was dark. Only rooms that had windows were filled with dim light. The nameless girl had left the creature alone but only for a few minutes. The creature stared at the blowing, shredded remains of the curtains. The rusted metal bars had been fastened onto the windows from the outside as well as sealed. No fresh air passed through those windows. The cracks in the walls were what allowed the wind to pass by.

The creature's stunning soulless eyes yearned to see the outside world. If even for a brief moment… just to escape the jail it'd been locked in for so many years. Mediocre paintings on the walls around the house had given it some idea of what the real world was like. Books had filled its mind with vivid images of rivers, fields and towns full of cheery people. Just once… it wanted to see that first hand.

The unnamed girl returned. She gazed at the being sitting on the sofa. Her doll eyes filled with tears as she resumed her original position beside it. She laid her head on its shoulder and wept. The creature laid its head on top of hers and closed its striking eyes. The sorrow the girl felt rushed through him. He held one of her hands in his tenderly. If there ever came a time when it would be able to save her from suffering anymore, it would do whatever it could to attain happiness for her.

It re-opened its eyes. Very soon she would leave him again. The time was coming. Her soul would leave the doll's body and find its way to the spirit realm. It would be alone for another twenty years as she stayed there. The grandfather clock in the far corner of the room began chiming twelve; for the afternoon had officially arrived.

The days were numbered before she left. Despite the pain the creature would feel in her absence, it knew she would be in a better place then their prison. Twenty years would take forever to pass with nothing to do but sit and think. It took in a slow breath and released it. The girl continued to sob. Her china-doll fingers held onto its satin shirt like a lost child who had been reunited with their mother. She cried for it because she would be free to roam the spirit realm as it stayed behind and waited.

It wanted her to be happy. She would be free to converse with others of the dead for twenty years. When she returned to it, she'd have plenty of stories to tell it. But she did not want that. She wanted it come with her… even though that was impossible.

She let out another desperate cry. It winced at her pain. No words could comfort her. Silence made everything very hard, but disturbing the 'peace' could only make matters worse. So together they sat together and waited.

They waited for God or Satan to make their move. God could free them at any time, yet he refused. Satan was the one who would let her go back to God for twenty years and leave the creature behind. Although it wasn't so much a creature…as it was an immortal human puppet.


	2. Reita's Dare

"You're such a chicken Reita!" Kai teased, shoving his friend playfully.

"I'm not scared; I'm just being mature okay?" Reita said opening a small bag of Skittles to share with Kai as they walked around the college campus.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai said waving a dismissive hand, "How many times have you played that card?" He took a handful of the rainbow candy.

Reita smiled. Kai was so childish for his age. But he didn't mind at all. Sometimes that was one of the only reasons he enjoyed school. Kai was always there to make him laugh. He was so upbeat it was almost unnatural.

"What're you smiling about, huh?" Kai asked shoving five Skittles in his mouth.

Reita shook his head, letting the blonde hair fall in his face. Kai shrugged and they kept walking. They passed the huge fountain at the front of the school before Kai started jumping up and down on the spot. He seemed to trying to say something through a mouthful of Skittles.

Reita sadly hadn't had any of the candy. Kai had eaten them all already. Annoyed slightly, he shoved the packaging in his pocket for later disposal. Then he turned his attention to Kai.

"What?"

Kai finally swallowed and pointed across the courtyard. "Hot girls at eleven o'clock!" He had a grin that stretched across his entire face.

Reita checked his watch. "It's noon, stupid."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Always trying to outsmart me, huh? Have you ever wondered if that's the reason why girls refuse to date you?"

Reita shoved him playfully that time. "Girls aren't my thing Kai. You of all people should know that."

Kai looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He then started laughing. Reita was confused.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" Kai was roaring with laughter. Reita blinked. "Turn around, you idiot!"

Reita did so and realized the girls Kai had been pointing at were right there. All three of them looked irritated.

"Oh crap…" Reita spoke under his breath.

"Hey ladies!" Kai walked up to them cheerfully as always. "My friend here is a bit of a bonehead when it comes to dating… don't mind him. I'm sure it was nothing personal."

Reita was shocked at how fast the girls got over their anger. But with Kai around, it was hard to be mad at anything for any reason… no matter how serious.

"Why don't I take you girls out for lunch?" Kai asked casually, turning on his charm.

The girls agreed quickly. Of course, Kai had refused to leave his friend behind and had dragged him along. All of them sat in a booth at a nearby restaurant not far from the campus. Reita sat there uncomfortably as Kai chatted up the girls. All of them were getting along great. Reita stuck out like a sore thumb.

Half an hour passed without Reita even realizing it. The next thing he knew, Kai was waving good-bye to the girls and they were headed for their next class.

"You didn't even smile once!" Kai shook his head. "I pity you my friend."

Reita shrugged. "I told you girls aren't my thing."

Kai nodded. "Well at least I got those three all to myself!" He punched Reita's shoulder teasingly. "How about tonight you and I have some real fun? Sound good to you?"

Reita sighed. Kai's idea of fun wasn't at all like his. They'd probably end up doing something wild and end up in trouble… again.

"Depends," he replied, "What're we going to do?"

Kai's smile didn't fade. "I've got an idea… something that will make you wake up and enjoy yourself for once!!"

"Like…?"

"You'll just have to see, now won't you?"

Reita nodded. "Whatever, Kai. As long as I we don't land up in jail for the night again, I'll be fine."

Kai pouted. Reita raised an eyebrow. Kai laughed. "I'm kidding! For once I promise we won't do anything too illegal." He ran off before Reita could respond.

The next hour whizzed by. Kai caught Reita's attention as they passed each other in the hall.

"I'm inviting a few of the guys to hang with us tonight too, okay?"

"I thought you said it was just going to be us!" Reita called over his shoulder.

"I thought of something that calls for a group rather than just a few people!!" Kai whistled triumphantly or excitedly. Reita couldn't tell.

"Nothing illegal Kai! You promised!!"

"I know!"

Reita wasn't going to count on his promise. He smiled to himself and headed to his last class. The day would be over and then Kai would unleash his madness down on him again. He was nervous just as he was psyched.

He took his place at the back of the class as usual. He'd just began opening one of his books when he heard his other friends cheering, laughing and hooting as they entered. They noticed him instantly and rushed over to him.

"Reita… Kai says we in for a real blast tonight!" Kame, one of Kai's older friends beamed. He blew some of his reddish hair out of his face.

"I never figured you for the wild type Reita-chan!!" Jin teased. He always said 'chan' at the end of Reita's name because he knew it bugged him.

Reita made a face at the two of them.

Koisuke stuck his tongue out at Reita. "You're so uptight Reita! Sometimes I wonder why Kai hangs out with you!" His short, spiky black hair had obviously been gelled recently. It shone underneath the lights of the classroom.

Kame, Jin and Koisuke started chatting all at once. Reita rolled his eyes and gave up. Obviously Kai had invited them. They were all crazy. Kai must've also told them what they were doing otherwise they might not have agreed to go.

"So what're we doing?" Reita almost shouted over them.

Koisuke smirked. "Kai told us we're not allowed to tell you-"

"-because-" Jin smiled, continuing.

"-you'd complain and give us some lame lecture about us all being immature for our age." Kame finished winking at Reita.

"Oh come on guys," he groaned, "Now I'm wondering if I should just stay at the dorm."

Their eyes widened in horror. "NO!!" The shouted simultaneously. "YOU'RE COMING!!"

Reita's face lit up with surprise. It was almost scary how they did that. Of course, those three hung out as often as he and Kai did. Therefore it made sense that their thoughts worked virtually the same.

"Okay! Okay!" Reita exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air to add dramatic effect. "I'll go! I'll go!"

The others high-fived each other to celebrate their small victory. A few minutes later the professor had ordered everyone to their seats and the class had begun.

Reita couldn't help but feel amused watching Koisuke, Jin and Kame goof-off behind the professor's back. Once, Koisuke accidently threw a paper ball at the back of the professor's head. It bounced right off the bald-spot on his head, and then landed on the floor. He'd whirled around with anger exploding across his face. The entire class burst into fits of laughter.

Koisuke, Jin and Kame laughed hardest. The professor had asked the class numerous times who'd done the idiotic crime, but no one ratted on Koisuke so he had no other choice than to resume teaching. That particular class always went by fast for Reita. It was one of the most fun…the bell rang and he gathered up his things. Just then the guys 'attacked.'

Jin and Kame had a strong hold on each of Reita's arms because they seemed to think he was going to bail out on them. Koisuke couldn't stop laughing each time Reita tried to convince them to let go. Even when he promised he'd stay, they refused.

"A real man would be able to get out of that situation Reita!" Koisuke laughed.

Reita frowned. "Real matu-"

Kame used his free hand to smack Reita upside the head. "Don't start!" He laughed along with Jin.

"Yeah Reita-chan!!! Loosen up a little!! Remember Kai's expecting you to enjoy yourself! You're the whole damn reason why we're coming too!!" Jin smiled.

Reita gave up again. There was no use fighting his friends. That's what they were…real true friends. They were trying to do him a favor. He didn't really consider it a favor… after all… he hung out with Kai ALL the time. As if he didn't have enough fun already.

They made it to the parking lot. Kai was leaning up against his blood-red Porsche. His face lit up when he saw his buddies walking towards him.

"Awwww," he groaned when he saw how they were dragging Reita, "Was he being a pain again?"

Jin nodded with a smirk. Reita's jaw dropped. "I was not!"

Kame and Jin let go of him. He fell back onto his back with a hard thud. Reita scowled up at Kai as he leaned over him to make sure he was okay.

"I hate you all." Reita spoke with a shaky voice. He was trying to sound angry but everyone else looked like they were stifling laughter. He smiled and then they roared.

Once they'd regained control of themselves, Kai told them to get in his car. They all climbed in. Jin and Kame sat in the back with Koisuke in the middle. Kai was obviously driving so Reita took the passenger seat.

"Comfy back there guys?" Kai asked.

"Yeah!" "Yep!" "No problem!" Came their answers.

Kai stepped on the gas pedal and they raced out of the parking lot. Reita's heart beat quickened.

"You said we wouldn't do anything illegal Kai! That includes driving erratically!!"

Kai grinned at those words and continued to exceed the speed limit as the whizzed down the empty street.

Kai pulled to a stop at another restaurant that was a magnet for college students. Reita took a few deep, slow breaths before even considering moving.

"That was awesome!!" Koisuke shouted as he climbed out after Jin.

"What a thrill ride Kai!" Kame joined in.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Reita complained. He felt dizzy and it took a few minutes for him to catch his balance.

The guys laughed at him. "You want me to carry you inside Reita-chan?" Jin mocked.

Reita forced a smile. Kai's driving always made him feel uneasy. On more than one occasion he'd been in jail overnight because he'd been driving drunk.

His vision started to blur again and he couldn't feel the ground he stood on anymore. Kai was at his side instantly and he helped him into the restaurant. Reita was fine within minutes.

They'd ordered fifteen minutes later. Their meal had arrived half an hour afterward which they'd engulfed in seconds.

"Okay guys," Kai silenced them all building tension, "You three know what we're doing tonight…" He glanced at Reita. "He doesn't have a clue."

Koisuke, Jin and Kame grinned simultaneously, it was almost scary.

"Should I tell him?" Kai was looking at the others and then back at Reita. They hooted and laughed. Reita had a funny feeling… he wasn't going to like what Kai had planned. "Okay…okay…" Kai sipped his root beer since he had to be the designated driver; no matter how much that ticked him off but he didn't want anyone else driving his car. "Reita… tonight we're going to play the ultimate game of Dare."

The other guys howled in excitement. Most people in the restaurant turned to stare at them in annoyance. They didn't care.

"Define 'ultimate.'" Reita said nervously.

"No matter what the dare is… you have to do it." Kai explained. "Even if it's something stupid… or something really serious."

Koisuke, Jin and Kame were all for it. Reita, as he'd predicted wasn't sure but he was supposed to be having fun… so he smiled. "Alright… let's do this!" The others grinned and joined in laughing.

For the next two hours, all of them dared each other to do stupid things. Kame had dared Jin to hit on the waitress… with EVERYTHING he had. They'd all had trouble stifling their laughter. Koisuke had dared Kai to drink three bottles of Tabasco sauce, which he did and caused him to tear up beyond belief. Kame had been dared to act gay and start a very dirty conversation with the thirty-ish, male bartender. Koisuke had to stay in the ladies washroom for ten minutes and scare the be-Jesus out of the women who entered. All in all, it was fun until the manager kicked them out for causing too much trouble.

Kai kept jumping up and twirling around in the air like it was nothing. Koisuke, Jin and Kame were talking way too fast that Reita couldn't understand them. Reita'd had an amazing time. He'd laughed along with them all, had a few drinks and just let loose. Lucky for him though, no one had dared him to do anything… or at least they hadn't until they reached Kai's Porsche.

They all climbed in. Kai turned the keys and the ignition roared to life.

"Dang!" Koisuke exclaimed. "We forgot about you man!" He shoved Reita's chair a little.

"Yeah… poor Reita-chan…" Jin hiccupped. Out of all of them, he'd drunk the most.

"Well that was really stupid of us." Kame stated flatly, crossing his arms. He seemed upset with himself.

"Chill guys," an amused smile appeared on Kai's face, "I've got the perfect thing."

Everyone was intrigued. Reita's head snapped in Kai's direction. "Huh?!"

Kai glanced at him and then re-focused on the nearly deserted road. "Don't worry Reita… as long as you're not afraid of ghosts, you'll be fine."

The word 'ghost' sent shivers down Reita's spine. That was something Kai always bugged him about. Reita hated horror films. Whenever he and his friends went to the movies to watch them, (and especially if it concerned ghosts), Reita would normally walk right out after the previews had finished. His fear of ghosts was insane.

"W-what…?" Reita choked out. His face paled.

The car was silent. Everyone present knew of Reita's fear. None of them had gone to see a horror movie in over a year because he was their friend. All of them were shocked to hear Kai bring that up.

"Seriously Reita," Kai was shaking his head now, "You're still afraid of ghosts? Even at this age?"

Reita nodded; discouraged.

"There's only one way to get over that then, isn't there?"

The passed their school campus entirely. A heavy silence hung in the car. Suddenly Koisuke spoke up.

"Kai… you can't be driving to-"

"That's exactly where I'm going." Kai interrupted.

"But… you can't! It's prohibited! And you know the stories people-"

Once again Kai interjected. "Koisuke… those stories are SO old!" He emphasized 'so' over dramatically. "Do you even know when those started?"

"Yeah but Kai-"

"Relax, man. If there was any real danger, I wouldn't be daring Reita to do this now would I?"

Kame and Jin had their interests sparked. "What's this about?" Jin asked curiously. "You guys are making it sound like Reita's going to be walking into a deathtrap."

"Where are we going anyway?" Kame continued.

Kai didn't answer. Reita didn't like the uneasy silence that followed their questions. Koisuke finally sighed.

"Do you guys remember those stories about the house in the woods?"

Both of them shook their heads. Reita didn't even know what he was talking about.

Koisuke frowned thoughtfully. "You guys are going to think I'm quoting something from Fear Street…" He sighed. "I only know about this because my mother told me this one day… we used to live near the woods back then… and I mean that was a LONG time ago." He paused.

Reita could already feel the panic rising in his chest. If Koisuke thought wherever they were going wasn't safe, why was Kai still driving there?

"So I'd tried to run into the woods to hide from you guys," he pointed at Jin and Kame, "This was before we knew you guys…" He nodded at Reita and Kai. "I didn't think you guys would remember…but whatever… so we were playing tag or something like that when I'd ran towards the woods to escape you guys. I remember my mother's words clearly: 'Koisuke don't go in there!! Come back! It isn't safe!!' She didn't tell me what she meant until if you guys had left…"

Kame and Jin looked confused. Their faces showed they had no recollection of this what-so-ever, but they continued to listen anyways.

"When I asked her why I wasn't allowed to play in the woods, she said there was something in there that was dangerous. She told me that when her mother was a teenager, there had been an enormous fire in the woods. Apparently, some rich jerk had been living in a mansion there. The 'townspeople' I guess you could call them, thought he was insane. He was always babbling on and on about spirits, souls… you get the picture. So he lived in some mansion by himself. When everyone had seen the fire, they all thought he had set it. But it didn't make any sense…" Koisuke stopped for a moment as if thinking something over.

"The next day, the mayor and some of the town guards went to check it all out. When they got there, the building was still standing but, as you can imagine, it was burnt and in shambles. They entered the house to find the furniture practically perfect!! There were tears on some of the furniture but they seemed to have been there before the fire and books had been thrown carelessly around…" Koisuke took in a deep breath. He seemed incredibly scared about something.

"The mayor had gone into the living room by himself. The guards were in the kitchen when they heard him screaming. He told them to get out of the house, and do whatever they could to barricade it. 'Seal it shut! Seal it tight! Satan's demons live here and must be trapped for good!' He'd yelled. He had been so shaken up about it… no one had dared to ask him what he'd seen. But when the guards came back the next day to seal off the building…"

Reita had been holding his breath the entire time. He let it out and tried to regained control of his breathing. Something about ghosts was coming…he knew it.

"…the guards were so scared… they kept hearing sobbing from inside and screams of agony. The mayor had told them… no matter what you hear or see, seal off the building or you'd be dead yourself. They locked and barred the windows from the outside, chained the doors shut and the entire time they worked on the house, the kept hearing sobs and screams. They thought someone was dying or having a mental lapse… you know… something along those lines. They said it had to have been horrifying if the Mayor himself had warned them not to go inside. The mayor's sanity after the fact had been questioned many times… no one knew what he'd seen, but the guards said the anguish that came from inside was terrifying. Some people said it was monsters, other say it was ghosts, some said it was demons, others said it might have actually been someone in pain and the Mayor had just been too scared to help them."

Jin and Kame's mouths fell open. Reita's face paled. Kai only nodded as if to say he agreed with Koisuke's story.

"So there's some horrible thing in there?" Kame gulped.

"Yeah," Koisuke nodded, "Apparently every now and again… the residents that still live near the woods can hear those cries."

"This is awesome!" Jin exclaimed. All the tension disappeared. "Kai… you're going to dare Reita-chan to go in there aren't you?!"

Kai grinned.

"No way!" Reita protested. "I'm not goi-"

"Don't be such a baby Reita," Kai complained, "Those stories are old, remember? It's not like they were even real in the first place."

Kame finally relaxed after those words. "Yeah… that makes sense."

Jin laughed. "You weren't scared were you?" He teased.

Kame nodded. "Just slightly, okay… it's just kind of creepy."

Koisuke was shaking slightly. "I still think we should turn around Kai." Reita was in agreement with him.

"No way!" Jin was over excited. "I can't believe you guys are scared! I think Kai's right. Seriously… whatever happened back then… whatever was in that house… is probably long dead by now!"

After about fifteen minutes, Jin had fully convinced not only Kame, but Koisuke too that there was going to be nothing there. Then they all started betting whether or not Reita would chicken out if he went there.

"So Kai… what exactly is Reita's dare?" Kame asked.

Kai tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as the forest started to come into view. "I'm daring Reita to actually go into that house and look around. He has to at least stay in there for a good ten minutes."

Reita swallowed.

"He won't last two minutes." Koisuke stated. "I bet five bucks." He pulled the cash out of his pocket.

"I bet you ten he couldn't stay in there for the whole night!" Jin exclaimed, raising the stakes.

Kame laughed. "I want in on this action!! I bet twenty he doesn't even make it within seven feet of the place!"

They continued making outrageous statements like that until they reached the woodland borders. Everyone piled out.

Reita stared up at the monstrous trees above him. His fear sky-rocketed as Kai said the 'official' bet.

"Jin gave me an idea," he looked at Reita, "You have to go inside the house and stay for the whole night. We'll pick you up early before school starts, tomorrow."

The other guys looked to Reita for his reaction. He tried his best not to look frightened. The stories were just stories right? It was just what Kai had said… there was nothing to be afraid of. He glanced at Koisuke. He didn't seem worried anymore. Maybe he'd be okay…

Reita forced a smile. The guys howled in excitement. Kai patted Reita on the shoulder.

"I knew those stupid ghost stories wouldn't scare you anymore." Kai looked proud.

Reita took a few steps forward and then glanced back at the guys. They all wore encouraging, eager faces. He sighed. There was no way out of it this time. He sucked in a large amount of air and proceeded inside the woods. He had no idea of knowing how drastic a turn his life was going to take.


	3. Inside

Reita continued through the forest. He tripped over knotted branches countless times. The others were following close behind him. None of them knew what exactly the house looked like besides Kai. Plus, they had to actually see Reita enter the house before they'd leave.

Jin, Kame and Koisuke kept yelling and laughing about what kind of 'monsters' lived inside. Kai was the closest one to Reita.

"Why'd you have to make me do this?" Reita whispered to his friend.

He grinned. "There's nothing wrong with that house. I'm sure of it, okay? And if anything serious happens, you can always call me to bail you out."

"I thought there was no going back on these dares?"

"Yeah… you can't go back on it. But I'll 'rescue' you if you start to get really freaked out."

"What about the guys?"

"They don't have to know."

Reita looked at his friend thoughtfully. Kai was a dare-devil and liked pushing him over the edge almost daily. But when things got down to it, Kai was always there for him.

"Didn't Koisuke say that it's forbidden to trespass in this forest though? You said we weren't doing anything illegal…"

"Yeah… I said 'we'… not 'you.'"

Reita laughed. "Damn Kai," he shook his head, "You got me there."

Kai nodded. "I know."

They continued onward until the house came into view. They all stopped fifty or so meters away and stared at it.

"You said a fire caused this right Koisuke?" Kame asked.

"Yep."

"That must have been one hell of a blaze!" exclaimed Jin.

Kai turned to Reita. "You ready?"

Reita shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."

He jogged across the fallen leaves that lay on the ground. All of the guys started shouting at him to be careful. He could've sworn Kame had yelled to watch out for monsters in the closets. Reita shook his head. They weren't that helpful.

He halted outside what looked to be the front entrance. Just like Koisuke had said, even in the dark, Reita could see the barred windows beneath the torn curtains which hung outside the windows. He swallowed. A breeze brushed past; warning him to turn around and walk away. He wouldn't do that. He glanced back over his shoulder to see his friends one more time.

They were nowhere in sight.

Reita's heart beat quickened. They hadn't been that far from the house. Had they left already? No… they'd said they were actually going to watch him go in. He focused on slowing his breathing before whirling back around to face the house.

"How am I supposed to get in there?" He asked no one in particular.

The front door had a bunch of chains coupled around it with one large, old-fashioned lock in the middle. The windows were an obvious no-entry. He circled the house a few times. There was no way in.

"Guys?!!" He cupped his hands around his mouth to sound louder. "Guys I can't get in!!!"

There was no response.

He let his hands fall back to his sides. He couldn't even see where he and his friends had been standing before. Fog had settled in the vicinity. He sighed. If he couldn't see them, they probably couldn't see him.

"Kai?!!!" He tried once more. Of course his friend did not answer.

Reita ran around the house one more. He couldn't see any entryways. That just meant he had to make one. He picked a heavy, fallen tree branch and held it out in front of him. He'd underestimated its weight. It was REALLY heavy. He took a few quick breaths and threw it at one of the house windows.

The branch broke into five different pieces after it came in contact with the metal bars. Reita groaned.

"Now what?"

He cautiously etched towards the house. He placed one of his hands against the wall. It was covered in either dirt or wet ash, he couldn't really tell. Pulling his hand away, he realized he'd left a hand print on the mediocre wall. He considered just knocking out a wall, but then he might cause the entire house to collapse. He placed his hand back on the wall again and started feeling along it.

Five minutes later, he found a hole. He could fit his fist through it, but that was pretty much it. With as much force as he could manage, he tried to force the hole to open wider. The rough, moist wood dug into his hands. Minute pain shot through his hands. He bit down on his tongue and continued to pull. Eventually, the whole had widened enough for him to just squeeze through. He decided to spare himself any more pain and crawled through.

As he pulled himself through, something caught on his foot, sending him to the ground. He gasped for air and forced himself into a sitting position. The wooden floor was dusty beyond belief. He brushed some of the dust from his blonde hair and just sat there looking at the hallway's walls.

There were paintings of forest, flowers, and strange fairies. All of the pictures were faded, covered in cobwebs and a few of them had great tears across them. He turned his vision to the left of him. At the end of the hallway seemed to be a dining room. Chairs were overturned, the glass table had snapped in half and the china in the cabinets lay broken on the floor. Only a few glasses remained inside the cabinets themselves. Reita decided it'd be safer to stay out of there.

He looked to his right. A darkened kitchen. Dishes lay in the sink, on a small table in the middle of the floor, and in the cupboards that were wide open. Moonlight barely shone through one of the windows beside the cupboards. Some kind of liquid or mold had spread across different sections of the floor. Slowly, Reita stood up.

He brushed some dust off his jacket's shoulders. He blinked a few more times to let his vision sink in. Reita'd never been one to sneak around in the dark; his vision wasn't the greatest at night time.

He proceeded towards the kitchen. The wooden floorboards beneath him creaked under his weight. A spider skidded across the floor, making him jump. Once inside the kitchen he could see everything else.

An old fashioned sewing machine was there; the spindle and everything. String and yarn lay in heaps on the floor around it. A book was opened beside the spindle. Reita leaned over it. The writing was in strange symbols. He gave up trying to read it.

He backed up a few steps and then treaded on a piece of broken glass. It cracked under his shoe, but luckily it didn't cut through. He sighed. It wasn't that bad. Koisuke had made it sound like he was walking to his death. There was nothing to be afraid of. At least there wasn't until he heard whispers coming from the next room…

Reita tried not to panic. He breathed in and out quickly. Bravely he took a step towards the room where the voices seemed to be coming from.

"Hello?" He called out nervously. "Is someone there?"

The whispering ceased immediately. Someone was definitely there.

Reita ignored his instincts that were screaming to run, letting his curiosity pull through instead. He courageously entered what looked to be the living room, and almost fainted.


	4. Too Beautiful to be Real

No Reita did not almost fall over because of something horrible. He'd expected mangled creatures, rotting corpses, or a psychopath with a knife to be lurking in the house somewhere. He was taken aback by the sight before him.

Only a few feet away stood the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had long dark curls for hair and he couldn't even think of words to describe how fantastic she looked. Reita found it strange that he noticed her because girls, (no matter how beautiful to Kai), had never caught his attention. Maybe it was because he hadn't expected to see her in this sort of place. Maybe she was just too beautiful for him to comprehend.

Reita blinked and then realized she was not alone.

Sitting on the torn couch behind her was a man. He was very striking and his eyes pierced through Reita. He wore an expression that Reita couldn't really place. Something along the lines of curiosity, worry, fear, wonder; all in one look. He was dressed just as elegantly as the girl, if not more so.

Reita exhaled heavily. The girl was standing in front of the man. The couch rested against the wall. She glared at him fiercely. She hovered near the man protectively as if Reita was coming to destroy him. Reita raised his hands cautiously and showed that he had no intention of harming either of them. The girl did not budge.

"Who are you?" An angelic voice broke the heavy silence.

Reita stared back at the man who had spoken. For a moment he found himself at a loss for words. He swallowed nervously.

"My name is Reita." He almost felt like saying: 'I come in peace,' but he figured that wouldn't really help his situation.

"Where did you come from?"

"O-outside." Reita answered before swallowing again. The lump in his throat would not cease.

Both of their eyes widened. The man looked astounded, whereas the girl seemed horrified. The man's vision moved to the girl who looked back over her shoulder at him. Their eyes met and it was as if Reita wasn't there anymore. He noticed there was some silent communication being passed between them. The girl's eyes flickered back to him.

"What are you doing here?" Her melodious voice was icy.

Reita didn't exactly want to explain to them what was going on, but if somehow they got to the police…

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "My friend's thought it would be funny if I snuck in here and stayed over night."

"There are others like you?" The man's brilliant eyes widened.

"Of course." Reita didn't understand. He had no idea just how dangerous his entering was.

"Leave." The girl demanded. "Get out."

Reita nodded and turned around to go and find his way back out when the man called out:

"Wait!!"

Reita halted and pivoted on his heels to face them. The girl was now sitting on the ground right in front of the man. She had her hands cupping his face and she was whispering something to him as he watched her with his dazzling eyes. He shook his head slowly and pulled away from her touch. He faced Reita once more.

"How did you get in here?"

"I kind of…" Reita paused nervously. The girl's eyes showed her fury. What was with her? "…broke a hole in the wall to get in."

"Would there be anyway that we could come outside with you when you leave?"

The girl hissed slightly. The man glanced at her and then back at Reita.

"Well, yeah… I mean if you could fit." Reita looked the man over more closely.

The man wasn't any normal human. He had these thick strings attached to him, gauze draped across his remarkable clothing, and when Reita looked really closely… he could see that his fingers had joints like a doll. Reita suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

The man was a living marionette.

The girl had caught his attention again and was whispering words like bullets to the puppet. Reita looked at her more closely and noticed that she was a living doll. A puppet and a doll. He'd stepped right into a fantasy film.

"You two…can't be real." Reita put a hand to his forehead, checking his temperature. "There's no way… no way…"

The man looked back at him. "We're real…Reita." He said his name as if he were some sort of savior. He then extended his hand for Reita.

He reached out and touched his puppet hand. It felt exactly like porcelain; inhumanly smooth and almost soft.

Reita jerked his hand back disbelievingly. "But you're…no way."

Both of them were looking at him with curiosity.

"Are there not others like us?" The man questioned.

"No." Reita shook his head. "No way!! This is insane!! This is crazy!! I have to get out of here! I have to call Kai!!" Reita started walking back through the kitchen.

"Reita!!" The man's voice was full of pleading. "Please don't leave us!!"

Reita froze. He should've kept going. He should've forgotten what he'd just seen, heard and touched. He should've run for his dear life. But he didn't. He gave in to the desperation he heard in the man's voice and returned to the living room.

The girl was still glaring at Reita as he re-entered. He wasn't as scared that time.

"You don't understand," the man started explaining, "You don't know us. You're probably afraid of us, but you can't leave us here again. Please Reita…" The man's eyes were full of despair.

Reita sighed. "Okay…I'll help." He stood standing where he was, for fear the girl would attack him.

"Thank-you." A small tear crawled down the side of the man's porcelain face. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself before. My name is Ruki." He bowed his head slowly. "It has been too long since we have seen life in this house other than ourselves."

Reita was still confused. "What do you mean?"

Ruki gracefully moved some hair out of his face before continuing. "She and I were locked away in this dreadful place years ago… many years ago Reita. They did not see us for anything but monsters. And we're not; as you can clearly see."

Monsters? Were these two what Koisuke had been talking about?

"We've never been able to escape and no one has ever tried to help us…until now."

"Hold on a sec," Reita said thinking over what he'd just said, "People locked you up in here for roughly a hundred or so years, right? And there was no way out? And now I'm here and you want me to…save you?!" He didn't get it.

He looked the two of them over once more. There was no way he'd be able to walk around with them in public. No way in Hell. Just what exactly was he dealing with?

Ruki smiled, flashing him a set of the most beautiful teeth. "If you can…please."

Reita stared at the two of them. What was he supposed to do? If he brought them out of 'hiding' everyone would want a closer look. Once the police and scientists found out just what they were, they'd either have the two of them locked up or studied. No one would want that; human or otherwise.

"Listen… I don't think you understand… a lot has changed since you last left this place. Everything's different and there's technology and…" He didn't know what else to say. How was he supposed to explain to these two that they had no choice but to stay here?

"I told you no one would help us," the girl spoke coldly to Ruki, "Not even someone like him. The world's different Ruki. I've seen it. We can't leave and obviously no one would help us anyway." She glanced viciously at Reita.

Ruki looked extremely downcast. Reita was puzzled. How had she seen what the world was now-a-days if they'd both been locked up in here for so many years?

"But…" He started to ask.

"Shut up." The girl commanded. Reita was instantly silent.

Ruki said nothing for several minutes. He seemed to be thinking something over very carefully. His eyes drifted around the room and then back to Reita.

"We do not belong in your time, correct?" His voice was full of sorrow.

Reita wasn't sure how to answer. With each passing second he couldn't help but begin to think of how he was going to kill Kai once he got out of there.

"No." That was the only answer he could give.

"Our freedom was taken for no particular reason…" Ruki had a far off look in his dazzling eyes as he stared at the barred windows. "Taken… all because of me…"

"Don't say that!!" The girl now sounded upset. "I told you it wasn't your fault!!" Her doll eyes were fearful.

"It is true, is it not? If only I had hidden when they'd come…"

"Stop it!!" The girl cried. "Don't do this to yourself again!!" She turned and glared at Reita. "This is all your fault!!"

"My fault?" Reita asked. "Hey… I didn't lock you guys in here, okay? And I'd help but there's too much of a risk."

Ruki met Reita's eyes. "We understand," he replied; his voice full of remorse, "But would you mind coming back every once in a while?"

Reita was stunned by his question. Come back? There was no way he'd… but Ruki seemed like a nice person… or thing. He didn't really like the nameless girl though. She was coldhearted. What would he tell the guys? Kai would want to know where he was spending his spare time…

"I…don't know if I can." Reita answered apologetically. "It's complicated."

The girl was still watching Ruki's face as if waiting to see if he would have a mental lapse. Ruki nodded.

"Of course." He bowed his head a little. "I should thank-you for at least coming inside and not fleeing when you saw us. Your company has given me some hope."

Hope? What was he talking about? Did he still think that there'd be a way to leave this house unseen by the rest of the world? He had to. Reita could see it in his eyes.

"Yeah…" Reita pulled a hand through his hair nervously. "…well I've got to go…bye." He waved once at them quickly and dashed back to the hole in the wall which he'd come through.

He fell out of the hole onto the moist soil and fallen branches. Pain pulsed in his back. It didn't matter though. He had to get away from that place. Reita forced himself to stand. He ran from the house out into the woods in the direction he thought he'd come from. Pulling out his cell he dialed Kai's number. His best friend was about to get an earful.


	5. Distrust

For the next week, Reita'd done nothing but think of Ruki and the girl. He'd had dreams about them and kept hearing Ruki's voice calling out his name when he walked down his school hallway. He was becoming paranoid and slightly obsessive. They just wouldn't leave his mind.

He stared out the window at the baby-blue, cloudless sky. A breeze floated by him through the open window. A bird chirped from outside. Someone waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Come back to Earth Reita!"

Reita turned his head and met Kai's eyes. He was forcing an angry look and crossed his arms.

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes! What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He replied sounding out of it. "I just have a lot on my mind Kai."

"You've been acting weird since we got you to enter that house… jeez…" He sat back down in his seat and continued to look at his friend. "I know you called me because you were freaked out but something's telling me I don't know the full story. What happened Reita?"

"Nothing happened," he lied with a sigh, "I just can't handle that kind of thing."

"That's a damn lie, and you know it. Come on, we're best friends for god's sake! What happened?!"

"It was nothing!" Reita shouted.

The class fell silent and the teacher turned from the chalkboard to them. "Is there something you two would like to share with the class?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Both answered simultaneously.

Kai turned away from Reita, with a pissed expression on his face and looked at the board. Reita's eyes drifted back to the window. His mind found its way back to Ruki… again.

"What's up with him?" He heard Koisuke whisper to Kai.

"Don't know. Don't care." Kai growled under his breath.

Koisuke turned to Kame and Jin. They shrugged. All three of them noticed the sudden tension between the blonde and the brunette. That was a bad sign.

Lunch didn't ease the tension either. The five young men sat together on the campus grounds eating in silence. Koisuke, Kame and Jin kept glancing back and forth between the best friends and themselves. None of them had the guts to say anything though.

"What the hell's your problem?" Kai snapped, turning his vision to Reita.

Reita looked up at him with innocent eyes. "Kai…" He sighed, scrunching up plastic wrap that'd been wrapped around his sandwich in his hand, "I really don't want to argue with you." He tossed the plastic wrap into the garbage can that sat a few feet away.

"Oh no you don't!" Kai shook his head. "Either you explain what the hell's up with you or I'm out of here!"

Reita said nothing and just looked at his friend. He had been too focused on Ruki, hadn't he? But then… that would be normal for anyone who'd seen what he'd seen, right? He looked at his other friends who were staring at him with worried expressions.

"Fine go." He hadn't even thought about what he was saying; the words just crawled out of his mouth.

The other guys' eyes widened in utter surprise. They looked back at Kai for his reaction.

"Excuse me?!!!" Kai leapt to his feet. "What'd you just say?!!"

"You heard me." Reita couldn't control the words that were flying from his mouth. "You said you'd leave if I didn't tell you. I won't. Get lost."

The words: 'Get Lost,' seemed to reach Kai. His face turned from a mask of fury to one that had been cut deep. He took a couple steps back.

"What the hell happened to you…?" He seemed to be holding back tears, which was unusual for him, and he spoke as if he didn't believe what was happening. He turned away from them all and walked off, glancing back at Reita only once.

The others turned to him.

"You've changed Reita-chan…" Jin stated in shock.

"You're not yourself…" Kame seemed to be speaking his thoughts out loud.

"I know what happened." Koisuke said.

The other two stared at him. Reita's eyes met Koisuke's.

The black haired boy looked around at all his friends with a serious expression. "One of the monster things got to him!" He smiled and then burst out laughing.

The other two tried to hold in their laughter but failed miserably. The stress between the closest of them was too much. Laughter was a good thing.

Shortly after, Koisuke, Jin and Kame 'ditched' Reita and headed inside. Storm clouds were starting to gather together. Reita looked up at the grayish sky. Why did that also have to remind him of Ruki?

The blonde shook his head. There was something wrong with him… something serious. Maybe if he went back and visited those two like Ruki had asked he wouldn't be so pre-occupied with them? He sighed. That seemed logical.

So he went back to class when the bell rang, dealt with two more classes before he was finally free. He immediately went to his midnight-black Mazda 3 and climbed in. He turned the key in the ignition. Once the car was fully ready to go, he sped off as fast as he could without breaking the speed-limit to the forest. He was amazed that he remembered how to get there without too much effort. He parked along the forest's edge and practically jumped out of his car.

As he started walking through the trees, rain started falling… hard. That made him run again and by the time he made it to the house, he was exhausted and soaking wet. He found the hole he'd made the first time he'd entered and climbed through with a lot more skill than the first time. His feet landed on the dusty floor with a soft thud. He shook his head and some of the water in his hair splattered against the wall.

He headed down the hall, through the kitchen and into the living room. This time he wasn't scared and knew what to expect.

Ruki was sitting on the couch, with his head resting on the back of it. His eyes were closed. He was sleeping. Reita looked around for the girl, but couldn't see her anywhere. He found that odd. He took another step forward and the floorboards creaked underneath him. Ruki's striking eyes flittered open and he turned his head towards Reita.

His eyes lit up and he seemed to be smiling with relief. "Reita…" He spoke softly.

"Hi," Reita scratched the back of his soaked head, "Sorry about not coming back sooner. I didn't-"

Ruki shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You're here now aren't you?" Ruki looked him over. "You must be freezing. As soon as she comes downstairs, I'll get her to give you a change of clothes."

"That's not really necessary…"

"Then what would become of you? You would freeze to death in this house. I will not allow it."

Reita still couldn't get over how he looked and spoke. He just didn't seem to fit in with anything in this day and age. Ruki just stared at him like a curious newborn. Amazement and awe filled his gorgeous blue eyes. There were light footsteps on the stairs. Suddenly the nameless girl was standing on the opposite side of the couch from Reita. She glared at him.

Reita felt his insides tighten. What was her problem? It's not like he'd done anything to her.

"He needs a change of clothes," Ruki said, "Please give him some."

The girl didn't even glance at Ruki. She glared at Reita with her hands curled into fists. She nodded.

"Right. This. Way." Each word came out like she was spitting poison.

She went back out into the hall and Reita walked passed Ruki to follow her. They ascended the stairs together in silence. Reita couldn't help but look over all the strange paintings on the walls of the stairway. Some of them were so disturbing… had Ruki painted these or had she? Maybe they had been bought back in there time? The girl pushed open one of the gray, mediocre doors. Reita steeped inside and was blown away.

If the dust had not been there to destroy everything, the room would've been magnificent. Everything was lined with silk. Curtains included. There were a lot of strange objects in the room too, but even those were beyond beautiful.

"This is my room. Touch anything and I'll kill you."

Somehow he didn't doubt that.

She drifted over to the closet in the far corner and slowly opened the ancient doors. She pulled out a shirt, some pants and socks. She tossed them to him.

"Get dressed and come back downstairs. If you take longer than you should, I'll be coming to get you."

She disappeared from sight and he didn't even hear her go back down the stairs.

He stripped out of his clothes and immediately began shivering. The house was like a morgue. It was freezing. He slipped into the silky, surprisingly warm clothes, and looked himself over in the slightly dusty mirror. He was wearing some sort of black, long-sleeved shirt and dress pants. He slipped the socks on and only then noticed that everything was just a little tight. But that made sense didn't it? The clothes belonged to Ruki, didn't they?

Reita stopped when he remembered her words. This was _her_ room. How was that possible? Why did she have male clothes in her closet? Where were all her dresses? He didn't have time to look over the room. He had to get back downstairs before she came looking for him.

He practically ran downstairs. A small smile appeared on the puppet's lips.

"They fit you well enough. A little small, but they'll do until your clothes dry." He turned to the girl. "Would you hang his clothes to dry?"

She nodded and cast another cold glare at Reita before she went back upstairs.

Reita looked around for somewhere to sit. The only place that seat that didn't look like it would collapse under his weight was the sofa. But he couldn't just sit by Ruki. That would be so…

"Sit, please." Ruki indicated to one of the chairs across from him.

Reita wasn't sure about that particular chair, but it didn't break. He met Ruki's striking eyes once more. How long had those eyes been haunting him? Too long. _Way_ too long.

Ruki cocked his head to the side innocently. "Is something wrong Reita?"

Reita's eyes widened. How did he do that?

"No…I'm fine."

"You're a bad liar."

Reita bit his tongue thoughtfully. What would he lose from telling Ruki? As long as the girl was occupied, he could speak freely.

"I've…" He paused. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we first met."

Ruki nodded. "That's not abnormal. Look at me. I'm not something you probably see on a daily basis, am I?"

"Not exactly."

"So it makes sense for you to wonder about me."

"How… how did you become… _this_?"

"I've been this way for as long as I can remember Reita," Ruki explained, "And in this house. I've never seen the outside world like you have."

"She hasn't taken you outside? I mean… even just to see the forest surrounding this place?"

"No. It's too dangerous for something like me."

"Why?"

"I'm a puppet Reita. There's only so much I can do."

"I don't understand."

Ruki shook his head once and then lifted his arms into the air before resting them back down beside him. "Now do you see? I can't walk."

"But there has to be some way…"

"I've tried. Thankfully she's here to help me."

"So what is she then? She's some sort of a doll thing, right? Why can she walk and you can't?"

Something wasn't adding up. She was free to walk all over the place if she wanted and Ruki was forced to sit on the sofa day after day? Reita didn't like this. Something wasn't right.

"She's a spirit inside a doll Reita. She can access every part of her body without fail. I know it's hard to understand, but this is just how it is."

"I don't see how that is fair. She could get up and leave if she wanted and you'd have nowhere to go? I don't trust her Ruki."

"Reita," Ruki's voice sounded truly sad, "You have to understand something. She wouldn't be able to leave this house anymore than I could. Can you not see that?"

He had a point. She was a living doll dressed in medieval clothing that was probably priceless now-a-days. If she was caught, she'd be forced into museum life of some sort.

"Does she ever leave?"

"Every twenty years, she returns to the spirit realm. She stays there for another twenty years and then comes back here."

"But then, couldn't she just stay there?" The whole conversation seemed like something Reita would've laughed at, had it been just a joke.

Ruki didn't reply. Reita had struck something there. She could stay in the spirit realm, couldn't she? If so, then why would she come back to live the life of a prisoner in an abandoned house? Sure, Ruki was there but by a lot of people's views, it was either him or her. Realistically, she could vanish for 'twenty years' and never come back. This girl was not someone Reita would trust his life with. But Ruki didn't have a choice. Obviously they'd been together for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. Was that why she wouldn't leave? Did this doll love Ruki? After all… he was a puppet.

"I see your way of thinking Reita, but you're wrong. I do not believe she has the power to stay there like she wishes she could."

Reita shook his head. "Aren't you listening to what you're saying though? She could leave and there'd be nothing you could do about it! What would you do then?"

Ruki's striking eyes went to the tattered curtains. "I do not know Reita. I believe I would go on as I do when she always leaves. I'd sit here and think. That is all I am able to do. I can not leave this house. I am a prisoner here."

Reita wished he could help him out. This girl who was taking care of him wasn't trustworthy at all. Was that why she was so cold to him? Because he knew she was evil? He could see her for what she was and Ruki couldn't. Was that her problem? Perhaps Reita made a mental note to watch his back with more caution around her.

Thunder crashed over the house. Lighting lit up the entire room. Reita fell off the chair and stared at a spot on the wall a few feet from Ruki. For a few seconds, he could've sworn he'd seen something standing there. Some kind of dark figure…


	6. Run

That night Reita didn't sleep. The creaking of the house was not the only thing that kept him awake. The storm outside had not subsided by any means. He lay on the nameless girl's bed and stared up at the mediocre ceiling. It appeared to be close to collapsing. That didn't ease his mind either.

He rolled over onto his side. He thought back to the flash of lightning in the living room and what he'd seen. Had someone really been there or was his mind just playing tricks on him? It was a dark house. The dark is famous for playing tricks on one's mind. Reita left it at that. It was logical and it made sense. Little did he know…

Just then his cell phone rang. He practically jumped up and off the bed as the exceedingly loud noise pierced through the gloomy silence. He flipped it open immediately.

"Hello?"

"Reita?" It was Kame. "Where are you? Jin's been trying to find you for the past three hours."

Reita looked around the room for a clock and found nothing. "What time is it Kame?"

"It's like…" He paused. "…twelve-thirty. We were going to ask if you would come and see a movie with us. But you know… we already went. Where are you?" He repeated his first question.

Reita's mind went through a series of places he could say, but none of them fit. "I'm busy Kame. That's all. What're you still doing up?" He had to move the conversation over to him. The less his friends new about his circumstances, the better.

Right on cue, Kame yawned. "Jin keeps calling me asking if I've heard from you. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"My. Phone. Is. Off." Reita stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Yeah okay," he pictured Kame shrugging, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah." He felt like adding the word 'maybe' onto the end of his sentence but held back. Kame would just ask questions.

"Bye."

"Yeah, bye." Reita hung up and then sat back down on the bed. He wondered whether or not Ruki was still awake. He then pictured the nameless girl glaring at him and concluded it would be better if he just stayed where he was.

He flopped back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling…again. He found himself wondering about Kai. He'd seemed genuinely hurt by what he'd said. Why had he even done that? Kai was his best friend, after all, why did he feel like he had to keep this from him? It's not like Kai would say anything about it. Kai was great with secrets. Aside from totally exposing his fears of ghosts. That thought caused Reita's jaw to clench. Nope. He'd forget about it. There was no way he'd tell Kai anything. He wasn't even sure if he'd return to school. Ruki needed him more anyway, right?

The wind howled and bashed against the house wildly. How could either of the other two sleep in this weather… in this house? Reita had a hard enough time sleeping in his own bed when the storms were as bad as that one. But everything was so much louder in this house because of how old it was and yet it managed to hold together.

He closed his eyes and tried to think back to what his life had been like before this. He and Kai had been as close as ever. They hadn't fought. He'd even been trying to get Reita to date someone. But then they'd decided to play a stupid game of truth or dare. But maybe this had all happened for a reason. Maybe Reita had found Ruki for a purpose that was unknown to him. But if so, what could that reason be?

Something told him it had to do with the nameless girl. He didn't trust her. Things just weren't adding up where she was concerned. Perhaps, just perhaps, by a twist of fate Reita had found Ruki to rescue him from her. After all, Reita didn't know too much about either of them. Ruki was more than willing to tell him anything and everything but she wasn't. She was the one hiding something. Clearly she wished Reita would just forget about them and leave. Or die. Either way, he figured she'd be happy.

The girl hadn't come to check on him for hours. Perhaps she and Ruki were asleep? This was it then. He had a chance to investigate. He climbed off the bed, and tried to make as little noise as possible. If the floorboards underneath him made too much noise, the girl was bound to hear him.

He walked around the room and looked over all the weird contraptions. He picked up one sort of silver thing, but for the life of him couldn't figure out what it was. None of the objects in the girl's room looked like anything he'd ever seen before. What was it all used for? He made his way over to the bookshelf beside her closet. The text on the sides of the books were in a language he was sure no one had ever heard of. He flipped open one of them to see a whole bunch of symbols. They weren't Japanese, Chinese, Korean or any other type of characters he'd ever seen before. Just where had these two come from?

He replaced the book to its spot and opened up her closet. Again, he was filled with puzzlement. This was her room, yet there were no female clothes in her closet. Did these clothes belong to Ruki? Some of them might have, but others looked too big for him. Had someone else lived here before them? Had someone else been living with them? Reita's eyes widened and he jumped back from the closet. The flash of the figure he'd seen downstairs filled his head.

Could someone else be living with them?

The hairs of the back of his neck stood up. He searched the darkened room for any sign of someone sitting or standing. He found nothing. His heart rate slowed as he began to think it through more logically. If someone else was living with them, Ruki would've said so. Unless he didn't know about them… Reita shook his head. Paranoia was not something he needed.

He swallowed, feeling the adrenaline in his body lessening. He was tired. Despite the raging winds, he was exhausted and definitely needed sleep. He climbed back on the bed and pulled the covers over himself. Still in the black dress clothes he'd been given to wear earlier, he fell to sleep.

However he did not wake up in time for school the next morning.

Reita awoke to find the room still as dim as it had been the first night he'd snuck in. It was hard to tell whether or not the morning had officially come. He picked up his cell-phone, which had been resting beside him, and flipped it open. It was almost noon. He sat up instantly and pulled a hand through his blonde hair. He was going to be in some major trouble. Not only with his teachers, but his friends too. Kai was already suspicious and he didn't need anything to add to it.

But what did it matter? His friends weren't anywhere near as important as Ruki was now, right? Reita froze. Had he really just thought that? He heard Kame and Jin's words from yesterday in his head. He really _had_ changed. But it's not like he'd changed just because. Ruki was a huge part of his life now. He hadn't been able to focus in class because of him, so what was the point of going to school?

Reita dropped his cell-phone and it fell into his lap. He buried his face in his hands and tried to clear his head. Why couldn't this just have been a bad dream? And if not a dream, a really well-done movie? Wishful thinking was not going to get him anywhere. He jumped out of the bed, grabbing his cell-phone, and headed downstairs.

An electrifying sensation washed through his body when he met Ruki's striking eyes. What caused that feeling? There was obviously a connection between the two of them that Reita couldn't fully understand. Maybe, as Reita had thought the night before, it was fate.

Ruki's angelic, porcelain face brightened slowly as his lips formed a small smile. "Good morning Reita."

Reita's eyes broke away from Ruki's momentarily and glanced around the room for the girl. She was nowhere to be seen. "Hi." He sat back down in the seat he'd sat in last night. He felt extremely light-headed in Ruki's presence. It was so abnormal for Reita to feel like this. He didn't understand what was causing it. Had his fear of Ruki completely vanished and now all he wanted was to be near him?

"I hope the storm did not keep you up last night, Reita." Ruki said his name like he was some sort of angel who was there to save him. When in so many ways, even though Reita was unaware of it, Ruki was like an angel to him.

"No." Reita shook his head, his right hand gripping his cell-phone tighter. "Ruki… can I ask you something?"

"Of course Reita."

The nameless girl's closet upstairs was still bothering Reita. "Is there someone else living with you?"

Ruki's face filled with innocent confusion. "No Reita… is that what had frightened you so last night? Have you seen someone else here?"

Reita sighed. So if there was someone else living in the house, Ruki didn't know about it. "I thought I saw someone standing behind you last night. And then I saw the closet upstairs…"

Just then the nameless girl walked in, holding Reita's dried clothes. She tossed them at him. "Here." She hissed.

Reita stood up, his clothes and cell-phone in hand, and walked back to the stairs. As he headed back up to her room, he wondered whether or not Ruki could see how she treated him. Did he sense the hostility she radiated towards him? He heard their voices from the top of the stairs, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

Reita quickly slipped out of the dress clothes and put on his own. The thought of an unknown person wearing them frightened him. He threw the dress clothes onto the bed and headed back down the stairs. He stopped a few steps before the end of the staircase and listened to something that practically tore him apart.

Ruki was crying.

He wasn't sobbing full out or screaming by any means, but the quiet cries were full of so much despair and just the lightest touch of agony, that Reita could scarcely breathe. Where had this come from? What had the girl said to him to cause this?

"He must leave."

Reita's vision went from Ruki with his face buried in his hands to the girl whose eyes were ablaze. She really did hate him. Reita was tempted to say something, but held his tongue. Neither of the two had realized he was there yet, and he wanted to know exactly what was going on before he made his presence known.

"No…" Ruki's voice was just above a whisper. His tone was laced with sorrow, and his angelic presence seemed to be begging for her to listen. He lifted his head from his hands and looked up at the girl who stood in front of him. His tears, like diamonds, were easy to see even from where Reita was standing. His porcelain skin made them shine so. "…please."

"He can't save you."

"…don't…"

"He came here just because he was curious. Do you really think he cares about you? I'm the one who has been with you for years, and you're more concerned about him?" Her words flew through the air like needles, trying to pierce through Ruki's smooth skin.

"…you mustn't…you don't understand…" Ruki blinked, causing a few more tears to spill over.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're right. I don't. But unlike you, I know how the world works now-a-days. Ruki, don't be fooled into thinking he wants to help you. He'd rather sell you off to some circus freak owner than spend his time trying to help you."

Ruki shook his head forlornly. "Please…please…" He begged, desperation filling his plea.

The nameless girl raised her left hand. Something in it glinted in the dim light. "I can't have him running off to tell anyone about us, can I?"

"Please…" Ruki extended his arms out towards her, like a child seeking comfort. "…don't do this…"

She fiddled with the object in her hand and Reita saw the corners of her mouth turn up into a small, malicious grin. "The decision is not yours to make." The girl turned, and then she met Reita's eyes.

Reita felt his heart pounding in his ears. He was starting to get a headache. The girl's eyes lit up murderously, and that's when she raised her left hand higher. Reita could see the object now. It looked to be some sort of knife. The handle was very small and the blade was much the same; very thin. He swallowed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ruki's head whip around. The puppet's gorgeous eyes fell on Reita and widened.

"No!!" Ruki's cry filled the room, and momentarily, the girl was distracted.

Reita took that as his chance. He bolted back up the stairs, completely unsure of where he was going or what exactly his plan was. All he knew for sure was, the nameless girl really did want him dead. He had to get out of there. Fast.

He ran past the bedroom he'd slept in and continued down the hall. Was it just him, or did the hallway appear to be a lot longer than it had been? Regardless, he kept running. He reached the end of the hallway, with no way out. Two doors were right beside him. He heard the girl's footsteps on the stairs as he tried to force the one on the left open. He gave up a few seconds later and luckily was able to get into the room on the right without an issue. He slammed the door behind him and quickly moved a chair with a missing leg in front of the door. He didn't know whether or not it would hold, but he didn't have time to look for anything else.

He turned around, his lungs feeling like they were going to explode, and surveyed the room. The room was much like the girl's with only a few more bookshelves and extra chairs. He exhaled heavily before taking in another breath of air and dashing across the room. He bee-lined it for the window across the room. Once there, he tried to pull off the wooden planks that had been nailed across the window to either keep the light out or Ruki and the girl in. His first few attempts to pull the wood off failed. The girl was trying to get into the room, but thankfully the chair was actually managing to keep the door where it was. He glanced over his shoulder to see the nameless girl's hand push through the little space between the door and the doorframe. Her eyes stuck to him like a predator lost in the hunt for its prey.

He gave up on trying to tear the wood off himself and desperately looked around the room for anything that would make his escape easier. His eyes fell upon something that had a hook-like ending and raced over to it, picked it up and continued to pull at the wood. The object felt like metal, and the hooked ending really did help him. The first strip of thick wood came off after a few seconds of yanking on it. Behind him, the girl seemed to be making progress as well. She let out something like a snarl when he pulled the wood off. He hooked the metal around the next piece of wood and pulled harder than he had with the first piece. The next three pieces of wood fell to the floor at his feet. He decided not to waste time pulling the last piece off and smashed the glass window with the metal.

Reita dropped the metal bar and dove out the window. He hit the forest ground hard. Pain shot through his body and he was momentarily out of breath. He jumped to his feet as fast as he possibly could and started running through the bare trees. Their leaves crunched beneath his feet loudly as if telling him to run faster. He brought his speed up to his maximum and continued on. Pushing branches out of his face as he ran for his life, he could still hear the nameless girl's screams of madness…


	7. Agony

"Where the hell were you yesterday?"

Reita looked up from his textbook to meet the accusing eyes of Kai. Reita's eyes, still filled with upmost fear, caused Kai's face to soften. He sat down across from Reita at the table Reita had chosen to sit at outside. He'd been avoiding talking to anyone as best he could all day. Jin, Kame and Koisuke hadn't even seemed to realize that he was actually at school. Kai on the other hand…

"Are you okay?" Kai asked, his tone more concerned now. "You look like someone tried to kill you."

Reita could hardly believe his ears when Kai said that. He knew Kai didn't have the faintest idea what had gone on the day before, but his words caused a pang of panic. Reita let his eyes fall back to his textbook. Maybe if he just ignored Kai he'd get frustrated and leave. But this time, Kai could tell something was seriously wrong.

"Reita," Kai slipped the text book out of his hands which forced Reita to meet his eyes, "Come on… it's me."

Reita inwardly shivered. How could he tell Kai what had happened? Not even just the day before… all of it. If he said someone really had tried to kill him Kai would want to know all the details. Maybe he'd even report it to the police… and then Ruki would get carted off to some Science laboratory in the Arctic, never to be seen again. He couldn't let that happen.

"You've been acting really weird lately." Kai continued when Reita didn't answer. "And you only started behaving like this after you left that house."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Reita suddenly exploded. He didn't know where his anger was coming from. Was it the stress? The nameless girl had tried to kill him… but then why was Kai the one he always lashed out at? Was it because they were so close? "I'm fine Kai!!"

"You don't look as well as you say you are." Kai didn't seem fazed at all. That surprised Reita. The other day, Kai had seemed genuinely hurt by Reita's words. Now… "I think you're lying. You're hiding something from me, and I know it involves that house. I can tell just by looking at your face when I mention that place."

Why did Reita felt as if he'd been struck across the face? What was this feeling of anger he felt welling up inside him? Had something in that house really changed him?

"So am I going to have to drag it out of you, or are you going to tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell." Reita replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah? Then how do you explain that?" Kai glanced down at Reita's hands, before looking back at him.

Reita looked down at his hands. His wrists and hands were bandaged up, only leaving the fingers exposed. They'd been cut when he'd flung himself out of the window to escape the girl. Plus, his fall had bruised the left side of his torso, he'd found a gash on the side of his head when he'd got home and he'd badly twisted his right ankle. Luckily for him his ankle had healed during the night, he'd cleaned the blood out of his hair and Kai couldn't see the bruises beneath his clothes. His hands were the only thing showing he'd injured himself.

"I burned them cooking last night."

Kai laughed sarcastically. "_Really_?" He shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken Reita, I can see blood soaking through those bandages."

"I burned a lot of skin off, okay?!" Reita snapped, wanting Kai to just drop it. His anger was still unstable. He didn't know what was causing it, and he sure didn't know what he'd do if he lost it. It was almost like he'd lost control of his emotions.

But if Reita had stopped to think about it for a few more minutes, he would've realized that his anger was indeed coming from his determination to keep Ruki safe. Ruki and Reita had a connection... and it was very deep. However, he could not see it. He could not understand what it was that made him want to fight to protect Ruki even if that meant he had to turn his best friend away.

Kai shook his head. "You are the worst liar I know. As soon as I mentioned that house you started shouting at me. What am I supposed to gather from that? Plus you've missed school. You of all people don't skip school Reita."

"Yeah well…" Reita exhaled. "So what? You're not my mother."

"I _am_ your best friend though, aren't I?" When Reita didn't respond Kai sighed. "Guess I was wrong."

"Kai," Reita let his mind go over things quickly, "I'm just dealing with some things right now."

"And you want to do it alone, is that it?"

His question surprised Reita. Kai was his best friend. Friends were supposed to be there for each other but… Kai couldn't get involved in Reita's problems. The nameless girl might kill him. Reita wouldn't let that happen. And he couldn't just give up Ruki either. Protecting the two of them was proving to be difficult.

"You don't understand-"

Kai cut him off. "Yeah, you're right. I don't. You know, I've busted my ass for you more than you seem to remember and I guess we're not as close as I thought we were. If we were, you wouldn't be leaving me in the dark."

With that, Kai stood up and headed back across the courtyard and out of sight.

After school, Reita got into his car and drove home. He slammed his front door behind him and locked it. Leaning against it, he slid down to the floor and closed his eyes. He buried his face in his hands and tried to make sense of everything. He'd just pushed his closest friend away… and he couldn't exactly go back to that house. The girl would probably be waiting for him. But Ruki's tears… his pleading eyes… Reita couldn't shake them from his mind. Kai and Ruki… they filled every thought in his head, and the blonde only felt more confused about the whole situation.

What was he supposed to do? What could he do? Call Kai up and apologize? No, because then Kai would inevitably ask what had gone on. Reita knew Kai wouldn't buy any of his lies. After all, Kai obviously knew Reita was hiding something. But how could he give it up to him? He trusted Kai with his life, but he just couldn't risk him getting hurt in the process. If something happened to Kai, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

For the rest of the night, Reita zoned out in front of his television set. He didn't even know what was going on. His mind was elsewhere. He finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning out of pure exhaustion. He awoke the next day at around six. He pushed a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. That was another day of school he'd missed. Great.

Sure enough, when he picked his phone up off the table, the screen said he'd missed twenty text messages. Kai no doubt had sent a few, and then bugged the others to do it too. Too bad for him though. Reita's phone had been on silent the entire time. He sighed again and leaned back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. Nothing was going to change unless he did something. It was either he told Kai, or went to do what he could for Ruki. Kai's friendship meant too much to him to have it dragged through the mess. He jumped to his feet without a second thought and was out the front door in seconds.

Ten or so minutes later, Reita sat in his car at the edge of the forest. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as he sat, making his final decision. If he went in to try and save Ruki from the psychotic doll, he might not come out alive. Should he call someone? The police? No… they'd only make things worse. Kai? He shook his head and swung open his car door. The sun seemed to have gone down incredibly fast in the ten minutes it'd taken him to reach the forest. Maybe the trees were just blocking the light? He'd never noticed just how tall they were until then.

The cold air pushed against him as if trying to stop him from going onward. He forced himself to ignore it and proceeded deeper into the forest. The twigs and leaves crunched beneath his shoes. A breeze brushed past, making the leaves on the trees sway. With each step he took, the feeling that he should turn around got stronger. But that was only fear. And as he'd proven already, fear meant nothing to him now. He'd escaped death once. Who was to say he couldn't do it again?

Reita stopped a few meters away from the house. It was still and quiet. The ominous feeling it gave off sent shivers down his spine. He found it hard to believe he'd ever let his friends talk him into entering the house in the first place. But that had really been Kai's doing hadn't it? A thought crossed Reita's mind. Did Kai know about Ruki? He disregarded that. If Kai had known about him, he would've said something. But then again, Reita hadn't said anything to him…

Reita clenched his fists and started walking forward. As he got closer, the house looked as if it were growing. He knew that was only because of his fear. When scared, everything appears to be a lot worse than it actually is. He knew that. Kai had even said that to him once.

The blonde held his breath as he looked up at the window he'd jumped out of. The hole was still there; the glass was still broken. He looked down at his hands. Suddenly, all of his injuries felt a hundred times worse. If the nameless girl tried to kill him again, would he even be able to defend himself? He would have to be very careful.

Slowly, so not to alert her of his presence, Reita pushed himself through the crack in the wall. It was a lot harder to do with his injured hands, but he made it without hitting the floor. He straightened himself and paused to listen. He heard nothing. If they were both indeed inside, then they weren't speaking. He began walking down the hall that led to the kitchen. He stopped before the doorway and stuck his head in just enough so he could see around the whole room. Nothing had changed since he'd last seen it.

He snuck into the kitchen just as quietly and slowly as he had been doing the whole time. He passed the spinning wheel and the table with the book of a different language on it. Again, he stopped just before the doorway, and flattened himself against the wall. The living room was next. There, he'd see Ruki. Would Ruki end up spoiling everything? Would he call out to him innocently, and end up signing his death warrant? He swallowed, his throat feeling dry, and took a couple deep breaths. He edged toward the doorway, his heart beating like mad in his chest, and peered into the living room. What he saw made his heart stop.

Ruki was sitting on the fabric-torn couch, a sorrowful expression on his face. His eyes stared out into nothing and Reita could feel his agony instantaneously. He watched in horror, as the nameless girl threaded a needle through Ruki's porcelain skin elbow. She was whispering something, but Reita couldn't hear her. Her eyes were locked on her fingers and their intricate weaving. What was Reita to do? Ruki looked as if he were in immense pain. Did Reita have enough time to run in and tear the girl away from him? But that would only make things worse for Ruki, wouldn't it? She was threading a needle through him…

He had to act fast. But what could he do? He couldn't risk hurting Ruki. He flattened himself back against the wall and looked around the kitchen. Was there anything in there he could use to knock her away from him? He didn't see the letter opener she'd tried to use on him. There was nothing. He had no way to save Ruki from the demonic doll. Just then, he heard the girl speak.

"It's done." Her voice was even cold towards the gorgeous puppet. That worried Reita.

He had to know if she'd meant she was done sewing, or something else. But if she hadn't been talking about that, what else could she have meant?

He heard her footsteps on the dusty floor. "You don't know anything. Stop acting like I killed you." She exhaled angrily. "I only did it to protect you," her voice didn't soften, "If he'd stayed, people would've come looking for him. And then what? Would you have been happier locked up in a cage?"

Ruki didn't answer.

Every bit of Reita's entire being was filled with despair. Was he feeling Ruki's pain? Reita bit his bottom lip and held back tears that had come out of nowhere. Was it true? Was he really feeling Ruki's pain? Had his anger towards Kai the other day been Ruki's anger? The blonde began to feel that he was in too deep.

Obviously both Ruki and the nameless girl had been around for a very long time. Probably since the time when dark magic was practiced in secret and anyone found experimenting with it was executed. Was it possible… no. Reita shook his head. Now he was really thinking like a crazy person.

"Why won't you answer me?!" The sound of porcelain against china sounded through the air. She'd slapped him.

The blonde was starting to find it hard to breathe. His whole body shook with upmost despair. Whatever was causing it, Reita had to stop it. Whether what was causing it was something that existed or not, was irrelevant. Reita pressed a hand down on his chest over his heart. That seemed to ease some of the pain. He kneeled down, trying hard not to gasp for air. His insides were twisting uncontrollably. With his other hand, he braced himself by pushing up on the floor with it. Just then, he noticed something glinting under the chair in front of him. He bent down further and for a moment, didn't breathe.

The glinting object was the nameless girl's letter opener.

Before Reita even thought it through properly, he grabbed the letter opener from under the chair, stood up and raced into the living room. The nameless girl looked up at him in absolute shock as he rushed forward and threw her against the wall, away from Ruki. She hit the wall and gasped. She fell to the floor and lay their momentarily, registering who had done that to her. When her eyes locked with his, she jumped back up to her feet. Reita held the letter opener in his right hand firmly. He hovered in front of Ruki protectively and stared right back at her.

She ran at him, straight at first and then twirled on her toes much like a ballerina would. She pushed him off balance with surprising speed and strength. Reita hit the floor hard and the letter opener slid away from his hand. His un-healed injuries screamed as he lay there trying to get his breath back. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She lunged at him and soon, they were both rolling around on the floor. Reita cried out as she started attacking his vital points. She pulled at his hair and jerked his head back. He was sure she was going to rip his head off. His neck burned with unbearable pain as he gasped for breath. Her eyes were ablaze just as she had been the first time she'd tried to kill him. However, this time it looked like she was going to succeed.

Reita wasn't going to give up that easily. He swung his legs up and knocked her off him. He tried to force himself to sit up, but he just couldn't do it. He continued to gasp for air, his head throbbing. The girl was on her feet once more. She walked towards him, like a cat closing in on a poor defenseless bird, with a wicked smirk on her face. She lunged at him again and Reita slowly rolled onto his side pathetically to try and avoid her. Just then, he heard something slice through the air and a surprised cry pierced the air.

Reita looked up and saw that she was half-hanging in the air, off the letter opener. It was jammed right into her chest and a silk-gloved hand held it in place. Her eyes were frozen wide-open and staring right at Reita. The blonde was sent through with shivers as the nameless girl slumped to the floor. Reita's eyes met Ruki's. The puppet looked even more tortured than before. The puppet reached over and pulled the letter opener from the doll's chest, let it fall to the ground beside him, held the collar of the girl's shirt, lifted her up off the floor a couple inches and let out the most horrific and distraught scream Reita had ever heard.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**To understand just how agonized a scream Ruki let out, go and watch the Gazette's Taion live from their Nameless Liberty Six Guns tour.**


	8. Strangers

For the next several hours, all the marionette could do was sob. Reita hadn't moved from his position. He stayed where he was, watching the sorrowful Ruki cry over the dead nameless girl. Her glassy, China doll eyes stared up at the ceiling as if looking through Ruki. His pain radiated all through the house. Reita was in absolute shock. He couldn't believe Ruki had done that. He couldn't believe he was still alive. Was he dreaming? Surely this was just a really bad nightmare. But no… Ruki's tears were there… his pain was real.

Ruki stared down into the girl's eyes shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak and could only choke. His voice had left him. Trembling, Reita slowly sat up. He didn't know what to do. There was no way to comfort Ruki. Now wouldn't be the time to thank him for saving his life either. If anything, maybe Ruki regretted what he did. The blonde backed away from Ruki until his back hit the wall. He bit his lip, feeling the pain from the girl's attacks surging through his body now that his adrenaline had run out.

Ruki released his hold of the nameless girl's collar and looked over his shoulder at Reita. Tears freely flowed from the marionette's eyes. It seemed like he wanted to say something to Reita, but nothing was spoken. They stared at each other for a long time. It seemed like another few hours had gone by before Ruki's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head and he fell over. Reita was so shocked by everything it took him a few minutes to realize what'd just happened.

Despite the pain he had to endure, Reita crawled over to Ruki. Seeing as how the puppet couldn't walk himself, Reita had to stand up and carry him back to the tattered couch. It hadn't been that far away and he probably could've dragged Ruki over there, but he couldn't bring himself to treat him as such. He had just saved his life after all.

Reita laid him down on the couch. His head gently rested on the arm of the couch. His striking eyes remained closed. Reita fell to his knees beside the couch. The pain was too much for him. Very quickly, Reita ended up falling asleep on the floor between Ruki on the couch and the nameless girl lying lifeless a few steps away from him.

Reita woke up to discover he'd been out for a few days. He shut his cell phone and let his arm fall limp beside him. He stared up at the ceiling trying to make sense of all that'd happened. To think, before he and his friends had even gone into the woods, his life used to be just like anyone else's. Insecure around girls, great friends, focused on studies… he'd had the normal life of anyone his age. How had that all changed in such a short amount of time?

He forced himself to sit up. He felt dizzy. His senses seemed to be taking forever to wake up. If anything, he felt like he'd died and been re-awoken. He glanced over at the nameless girl. She hadn't moved at all from the last time he'd seen her. Neither, to his discovery, had Ruki. He sat there for another few minutes before feeling that his muscles had woken and then stood up. He stretched his arms out above his head and then stared down at the doll. What was he supposed to do with her body? Would Ruki want him to get rid of it, or was he supposed to leave her for him to deal with? After all, she did seem like some sort of guardian to him.

As he stood there mulling it over, he heard voices faintly. His head snapped to the barred windows with ragged curtains. The voices were drawing closer. Panic started to wash over him. What would anyone else be doing out here? What was he supposed to do to protect Ruki? Without much thinking, he lifted the marionette up off the couch. Carrying him bridal style, he hurried up the stairs and quickly laid him down on the bed he'd slept on before in the nameless girl's room. Ruki did not stir.

He hurried back down the stairs. What was he supposed to do with the girl? He didn't know if Ruki really wanted him to touch her, but he had to act quickly. He picked her up off the floor and laid her down on the couch. He dragged his fingers gently over her eyelids until they were closed. Whoever these people were, wouldn't be the problem. Unless they were police officers or something. He'd be able to pass it off like she was sleeping if he didn't falter in his speech.

"We have to stop now. I won't be able to stay out much longer."

"I know. You think anyone still lives here?"

"I wouldn't think-" There was a pause. Reita felt his hair stand on end. Could these people already see him?

"What is it?"

"Apparently I was wrong." There were footsteps on the small landing where the front door was. "Hello?"

They were right at the door. Not that it mattered. It was barred on the outside. But how did one of the two people speaking know he was there? He glanced around the living room. There were small slits and cracks in the wall. Had he been spotted through one of them? But they weren't even that big…

What was he supposed to do? Should he answer them? They didn't sound threatening. At least, the second voice didn't. The first one seemed rather wary though. He pulled a hand through his hair, frustrated. He couldn't see these people. How did he know they weren't armed or dangerous? However, something inside Reita wanted very much to speak to these people. He just didn't know why.

"Hello?" The first voice tried again, a little louder than before.

Despite his fear, Reita spoke. "Who are you people?"

The voices became hushed and he had to strain his ears to hear them. "I knew there was someone in there."

"What do we tell them? All we need is somewhere safe to stay."

The first voice spoke again, directly to Reita. "We're not here to harm anyone."

"Who are you?" Reita asked again. If these people really were the police, they would've already tried to get in.

Silence followed his question. "Is there a way inside this place? It would be better if we could show you our faces."

Reita only knew of one way inside. If he directed them to it, would they come in and attack him? He didn't know who they were. If he went outside to see them, what would happen? He weighed both options in his head. If he went out there first, they wouldn't see the nameless girl and ask questions. No doubt if they saw her they'd wonder what he was doing in the house.

"I'll come outside." He answered, already heading to the hole in the wall just passed the kitchen.

He pulled himself through and waited a few moments for his eyes to adjust. It was a cloudy day, but he'd been cooped up in a very dimly lit house for too long. Twigs snapped under his feet as he walked around to the front of the house. He was surprised to see just how big the house really was. Once he'd rounded the corner, he saw the two people standing right outside the front door. It was too hard to make out what they looked like from the distance he was at so he started walking towards them.

He stopped a few feet away and looked at the two of them. One of them had pale, orange-red hair and was wearing dress clothes. He titled his head a bit to see the front of them. The one with pale orange-red hair was wearing a black tie and a necklace, a white dress shirt that stopped at the elbows, black pants and shoes and some kind of long black vest-coat. Bracelets and rings decorated his wrists and fingers. The other stood beside him. Their raven-hair fell nicely back from their face; they wore a long-sleeved white shirt with holes on the shoulders and around the elbows. The shirt was open to about their mid-torso, exposing beautifully pale skin. They too wore a long black vest-like coat. The vest seemed to have little chains going back and forth across it as well, hanging like jeweled cobwebs. A belt with a slightly large buckle wrapped around their waist and was greeted by black pants and shoes. Their black fingernails were accompanied by silver rings, and their neck was adorned with an unusual silver necklace. The last piece of jewelry Reita could see was a hooked earring. He was a little shocked by their appearance. The raven-haired one seemed so much more out of the ordinary while the other appeared pretty normal.

He stood there for a few seconds, wondering if he should make his presence known or just watch them for a few more minutes. He didn't have to think about it for too long. The one with pale orange-red hair met his gaze. The other turned to look at him as well. Reita watched in awe as the orange-red haired one gracefully stepped off the landing and walked towards him. The other followed. The two of them stopped at an arm's reach away from him. The one with the orange-red hair extended their hand politely.

"My name is Uruha. Yours?"

Reita glanced between the two of them and the hand outstretched before him. The blonde took Uruha's hand and shook it briefly. "Reita."

Reita met his eyes. They were warm, gentle and almost sad at the same time. He then locked gazes with the raven-haired one and shivers went down his spine instantly. His eyes were so intense. Both of them had beautiful eyes. Beautiful, sad and intense.

"This is Aoi." Uruha said, slightly smiling. He looked at the other with a certain fondness that Reita picked up on immediately.

Aoi said nothing and merely nodded. Uruha looked back at Reita. "You don't live here, do you?"

Reita's first reaction was to say he didn't. But his words did not agree with his mind. "Yeah I do."

At this, Aoi's eyebrows raised a little. He glanced over his right shoulder and looked the house up and down. "Really?" Uruha asked curiously.

Reita nodded, having to time his glances between the two of them. Uruha didn't seem to have a problem with him, though he'd seemed wary when they'd first spoken. But Aoi appeared to be on edge a little. What was up with him? He hadn't made any sudden movements or demanded any information from them, other than who they were. Why was he acting so strangely? Then again, Reita couldn't believe he wasn't being just as cautious. He had to protect Ruki. What would these two do if they saw him?

"How long have you lived here?" Uruha looked at him with wondrous eyes. What was up with him? It was just a house.

"Not long," he answered honestly, "I just sort of… moved in a little while ago."

"How do you even get in?"

"There's a hole in the wall around the corner-" Reita pointed. "-there."

"You climb through a hole to get in?!"

He nodded again. "Yeah. This place is really old. I kind of had to break some more of the wall off when I first tried to get in. The hole had been too small." He thought back to that time. It had seemed so long ago. Had time really passed by that fast?

Aoi suddenly pulled on the sleeve of Uruha's shirt. Uruha looked at him. The two of them shared a glance and then they looked back at Reita. Aoi's hand fell back to his side. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they'd been silently communicating somehow.

"Listen Reita I know you don't know us all that well but," Uruha's eyes fell to the forest floor, "We really need a place to stay for now. If you let us stay here for a bit, I promise to make it up to you somehow." His sorrowful eyes met Reita's and a small, pleading smile crawled across his face.

Reita thought about Ruki sleeping in the bedroom and the nameless girl lying dead on the couch. What was he going to do? For some reason, he felt he could trust these two. If they'd really wanted to hurt him, they would've done so already. But what could he do about the two inside? Would they freak out if they saw Ruki? He glanced between the two of them. Clenching his fists nervously, he turned and motioned for them to follow him.

As he led them to the hole in the wall he couldn't help but mentally panic. Would he have enough time to rush in and hide the nameless girl? Would he be able to get upstairs and somehow lock the bedroom door? No. This was it. If they saw them, they saw them. He'd made a decision and now he'd deal with the consequences once they presented themselves.

He pulled himself in through the hole. Uruha climbed through next and Aoi came in after him. They both took a minute to observe their new surroundings; the paintings, the destroyed China, the mediocrity of the house. Reita walked in through the kitchen and into the living room briskly. He looked over his shoulder once, hearing their footsteps on the kitchen floor. He stared down at the nameless girl agitatedly. He disliked her to an unbelievable level. She had tried to kill him. But Ruki had been with her for so many years. He couldn't get rid of her without his permission.

"Reita… where did you get this?"

Reita whirled around as Uruha walked in, holding the book that he remembered seeing by the spindle the first time he'd ever stepped foot in the house. He stared down at its pages with a concentrated expression. There was no way he was reading that. Reita couldn't even begin to understand what it said, so how could he? He looked up from the book, just as Aoi walked in after him, and dropped the book. His eyes had found the nameless girl.

Reita fought back his panic and answered his question. "I don't know. It was here when I moved in."

Aoi's eyes shot daggers at Reita, as if questioning his honesty. Did these two know something about the nameless girl? No, that was impossible. Could they tell she was dead? He counted to ten in his head rapidly, trying to slow the beating of his heart.

Uruha walked to the girl's side, stepping over the open book, and dropped to his knees beside the couch. Reita froze. What was he going to do? If he tried to pull him away from her, they were bound to know something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aoi pick up the book, shut it, and dust off its cover. His eyes went to Uruha, watching him with a protective gaze.

Reita got the feeling that Aoi wasn't one to mess with.

Slowly, Uruha brushed the nameless girl's hair from her eyes. His fingers traced the side of her cheek and then he pulled back as if stung by a bee. He looked back at Aoi. Another few moments passed where the two of them did nothing but stare at each other. Uruha's eyes fell to the book in the raven's hands and then he turned his attention back to the doll. Reita clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, trying to keep his cool. Though neither of them had said anything, they obviously knew something.

Uruha stood and gave Reita a confused yet frightened expression. "Who is she?"

What was he supposed to say? That she was the person who'd tried to kill him? That she wasn't just a doll? That's when Reita got an idea. If he could possibly fool them…

"She's just a doll. I'm a bit of an odd person. I like old stuff. That's why I moved in here. She was a gift from a friend of mine."

It was a bad lie and it didn't work. He could tell by the quizzical look Uruha gave him. He shook his head and pulled a hand through his pale hair. "Reita… I don't think we stumbled upon you by chance…"

"What do you mean?" It was Reita's turn to be confused.

As if sensing what Uruha was going to say, Aoi spoke up. "Don't do it Uruha! We just met him!"

"What am I supposed to do Aoi?" He sighed, meeting his intensely brown eyes. "I need to know."

"Know what?" Reita interjected.

He was ignored. "No! You can't do it! Not now!" The raven-haired man's words were laced with pleading.

Reita couldn't understand what'd just happened in the past few minutes. He quickly went through it in his head: two strangers had shown up, asked if they could stay in the house without saying why, picked up the book and asked where he'd got it, seemed to understand or know something about the nameless girl that he didn't… it was all so confusing. Who were they really? The two of them looked far too angelic to be real, yet there they were, standing before him. He and his friends had probably been the only people to step foot in the forest for years and now suddenly these two had shown up? Where had they come from?

"Aoi, I have to. If there's any chance…"

"But can't you smell it?! Don't do something so foolish Uruha!!"

Smell what? Reita felt like a caged bird. Something was going on right in front of him; something that once again was going to change the course of his life. Why was it always him? Why him, of all people? He'd been asking himself that for days. All he ever got out of it was a massive headache.

"I know he's not Aoi, but what if he… he has the book Aoi. And now she's…" He glanced at the nameless girl. "…I have to know."

Aoi shook his head, biting down on his bottom lip, and let his head hang low. Reita would bet anything that the two of them had been together for their whole lives and would do anything to save each other if the situation ever presented itself. The emotion was heavy in the room. Silence hung in the air. Aoi pulled a hand through his dark hair nervously and then looked back at Uruha with caring, worried eyes. He sighed and looked back at Reita before standing up. The stare Uruha gave him scared Reita. It wasn't cold or dark, but rather sad.

"Reita," the house around them seemed to freeze as he spoke, "Have you ever associated with Vampires?"


End file.
